Gardaí ‘engaging with returnees from IS conflict areas’ — Minister

Gardaí have already "engaged with returnees from the conflict areas" run by Islamic State, Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has confirmed.

Ms Fitzgerald also confirmed that three people who travelled from Ireland to fight in Middle East have died.

“While the number of Irish citizens who are believed to have travelled to the conflict zones is estimated at between 25 and 30, within that number are individuals who would have travelled to Libya and other Arab states to take part in the popular uprisings known as the Arab Spring which began in December 2010,” she said.

“Some of these individuals are known to have returned and three have died in the conflicts.”

Replying to a parliamentary question by Labour TD Ciarán Lynch, the minister said: “In Ireland, An Garda Síochána monitors the movements of those suspected of involvement in extremist behaviour and in line with best practice internationally has engaged with returnees from the conflict areas.”

The minister also warned that new legislation, if enacted, could mean prison terms of up to 10 years for anyone engaged in offences such as public provocation to commit a terrorist offence, recruitment for terrorism, and training for terrorism.

The provisions are included in the recently published Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2014, which would bring into Irish law an EU Council Framework Decision on combating terrorism.

Last week, the minister attended the Justice and Home Affairs Council in Luxembourg where the issue of foreign fighters was discussed.

In her response to Mr Lynch, who is chairman of the joint Oireachtas committee of inquiry into the banking crisis, the minister said the Garda Racial Inter-Cultural and Diversity Office had been in regular contact with minority communities here and stressed it was “essential that at times like this entire communities do not get stigmatised because of the actions of a few”.

“It has to be recognised that the vast majority of people in our communities wish only to go about their daily lives in peace,” she said.